KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Bruno Pouezat, says the 2017/ 2018 Extended Migration Profile of Jamaica is critical in helping stakeholders better understand migration trends, as well as the impact on human, social and economic development.

He made the remarks at the launch of the publication during a ceremony held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel last Thursday.

The document is Jamaica’s second publication of a migration profile, which is essentially a pertinent body of research that will allow for the monitoring and evaluation of migration and development policy, including the socio-economic impact on Jamaica.

“The profile will recommend strategic ways to govern migration, so as to increase the human-development outcomes and mitigate risks for migrants, their families and the communities at original destination,” Pouezat noted.

He said that the profile will enable policymakers to access the existing body of evidence in a simple and efficient way, and offer an inter-agency coordination platform, leading to better information flows, more coherent policy actions and enhanced cooperation with entities.

Pouezat pointed out that further integrating migration into Jamaica’s development will bring benefits to the country.

“We know that migrants contribute to their host nation’s labour markets, and we know that they contribute significantly to the public purse. Migrants contribute more in taxes and social contributions than they receive in benefits,” he argued.

The 2017/2018 migration profile provides both primary and secondary data on matters such as migration flows in and outside of Jamaica, migrant stocks overseas, migrants’ characteristics, and diaspora engagements.

It also provides data on remittance and investment inflows, social protection mechanisms in place for migrants, established governance frameworks, existing and updated legislation governing immigration, and gaps that prevent the effective streamlining of migration into national development strategies.

The Extended Migration Profile of Jamaica shows that emigration, which is the act of leaving one’s own country to settle permanently in another, continues to outpace immigration, which is persons coming into the country.

Though most individuals still go to the United States, numbers fell from 24,538 in 2006 to 17,362 in 2015. Emigration of the tertiary-educated professionals and students has continued, leaving significant gaps in some sectors.

Remittance receipts from Jamaican emigrants have trended upwards over the years 2011 to 2016. The Bank of Jamaica estimated remittances at just under US$2.3 billion in 2016, which contributed 16.1 per cent to Jamaica’s gross domestic product.